Hand Cycling in the Rocky Mountains – Sam Summers
Days after her injury, Sam Summers knew she wanted to get back into what she loved – mountain biking. In May of 2018, Summers was involved in a collision that would change her life. She was riding her bike when she and a car collided and she sustained a T7 complete spinal-cord injury (SCI). Getting back on her bike – now known to her as a hand cycle – on the road was difficult, but in the mountains it was the best thing for her.
“Off-road hand cycling is by far the most liberating sport I have tried so far,” Summers says. “The most difficult part is reading new lines. It’s not like a mountain bike for determining where to go.”
While riding in the mountains came easy to Summers after her injury, riding on the roads next to cars didn’t. One year later and she is still skeptical of riding on the street. However, that didn’t stop her from completing a 30km road race in September of 2018, just months are her injury.
Summers is currently training to cross Rollins Pass, a 14.4 mile trail in the Southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Besides off-road hand cycling, Summers has also tried Nordic skiing and sled hockey. Her future plans for adaptive sports involve adaptive surfing and any other opportunities that come her way.
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